Program Notes (continued)

The selections from Franpois Couperin's four books ofharpsichord music give some inkling of the wit and profundity ofhis writing. The Prelude, although conventionally notated, is tobe played in the free manner of the "unmeasured" preludes ofthe period. L'Arlequine (marked "grotesquement") is a portraitof Harlequin (the Commedia dell' Arte character). LeTic-Toc-Choc ou les Maillotlns seems to refer to clockwork or

perhaps the harpsichord mechanism. La [Pidce] Gamier isapparently a portrait of Couperin's friend, the organist GabrielGamier. Les Tours de Passe-passe refers punningly toslight-of-hand tricks and the crossing of hands on the twokeyboards of the harpsichord. The Passacaille, one ofCouperin's grandest works, has justly been compared to thedramas of Racine, in which formal rigor increases the expressiveintensity.

Domenico Scarlatti's wit, drama, and endless invention cannotadequately be conveyed by two of his Sonatas, or even by anentire program of them--let alone by program notes. However,the Sonatas heard this evening are filled with a poignantintensity that could hardly come from any other composer.

Bach's "Goldberg Variations" will be heard tonight withoutrepeats. This highly organized work consists of thirty variationson a harmonic pattern first heard in the theme--an aria-stylesarabande. Every third variation (Vars. 3, 6, 9, etc.) is a canon,the interval of imitation increasing with each canon until thecanon at the ninth (Var. 27). Between each pair of canons is a

duet for two keyboards and a character variation (e.g.,three-part invention, gigue, fughetta, aria, French overture).

"Richard Troeger

RICHARD TROEGER,

harpsichord

w

Sunday, March 15, 1992at 8:00 pm

Convocation Hall

Arts Building

Department of MusicUniversity of Alberta

PROGRAM

Toccata Undecima

(Book I) (1615)

Dr. Bull's Juell

Girolamo Frescobaldi

(1583-1643)

John Bull

(ca. 1562-1628)

12 Variations auf die

FoHe d'Espagne (1778) Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach(1714-1788)

From Partita (1964)

Scherzo and Trio

Daniel Pinkham

(b. 1923)

From Pidces de clavecin (1716-1730)

Prelude en Fa

L'Arlequine (Ordre 23)

Le Tic-Toc-Choc ou les Maillotins (Ordre 18)

La Gamier (Ordre 2)

Les Tours de Passe-passe (Ordre 22)

Passacaille (Ordre 8)

Francois Couperin(1668-1733)

Two Sonatas

F Minor, K. 481 (1756)

F Minor, K. 184 (1752)

Domenico Scarlatti

(1685-1757)

INTERMISSION

Aria mit verschiedenen Veraenderungen

("Goldberg" Variations) (1742) Johann Sebastian Bach(1685-1750)

Harpsichord by Craig Tomlinson (Vancouver, 1991)after Christian Zeil (Hamburg, 1728).

PROGRAM NOTES

Tonight's recital inaugurates the Music Department's newharpsichord. The instrument was made by Craig Tomlinson ofVancouver, one of the finest of today's builders ofhistorically-based keyboard instruments. It is a close copy,acoustically and mechanically, of a harpsichord made in 1728by Christian Zell of Hamburg. Few original harpsichords survivefrom eighteenth-century Germany (compared to the numerousextant Italian and English instruments, for example). The Zell isa useful model for modern builders, since it comes from a timeand place whose music is of particular interest. Its dark, rich,and at the same time rather plain-spoken tone is also versatileenough to handle a variety of repertory from the Baroque andclassical eras.

In the preface to his first publication of toccatas (1615),Frescobaldi compared their performance style to that ofmadrigals, in which the meaning of the words affects thetempo. Frescobaldi's toccatas are rhapsodic creations whosemain formal aspect is contrast of mood and figuration. The Cmajor toccata heard tonight is one of the composer's mostlyrical utterances. I have used it as an introduction, not only tothe recital as a whole, but also (with highly questionablehistorical precedent) to Bull's little coranto-like Juell.

The Folia d'Espagne is a bass line and harmonic pattern utilizedfor numerous sets of variations by composers all over Europeduring the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. It hasappeared in nineteenth- and twentieth-century works as well.C.P.E. Bach's variations on the theme are equally suited to theharpsichord, clavichord, and fortepiano. Indeed, no one ofthese instruments can realize the entire piece to fullest effect,recalling the composer's interest in simultaneous cultivation ofall three instruments.

Daniel Pinkham's Partita emulates Baroque forms (toccata,fugue, canon, rondo) but casts them in a conservative modernidiom. The Scherzo is the most playful movement from thePartita; the Trio is hilariously reminiscent of manyeighteenth-century French harpsichord pieces.

PROGRAM

Toccata Undecima

(Book I) (1615)

Dr. Bull's Juell

Girolamo Frescobaldi

(1583-1643)

John Bull

(ca. 1562-1628)

12 Variations auf die

FoHe d'Espagne (1778) Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach(1714-1788)

From Partita (1964)

Scherzo and Trio

Daniel Pinkham

(b. 1923)

From Pidces de clavecin (1716-1730)

Prelude en Fa

L'Arlequine (Ordre 23)

Le Tic-Toc-Choc ou les Maillotins (Ordre 18)

La Gamier (Ordre 2)

Les Tours de Passe-passe (Ordre 22)

Passacaille (Ordre 8)

Francois Couperin(1668-1733)

Two Sonatas

F Minor, K. 481 (1756)

F Minor, K. 184 (1752)

Domenico Scarlatti

(1685-1757)

INTERMISSION

Aria mit verschiedenen Veraenderungen

("Goldberg" Variations) (1742) Johann Sebastian Bach(1685-1750)

Harpsichord by Craig Tomlinson (Vancouver, 1991)after Christian Zeil (Hamburg, 1728).

PROGRAM NOTES

Tonight's recital inaugurates the Music Department's newharpsichord. The instrument was made by Craig Tomlinson ofVancouver, one of the finest of today's builders ofhistorically-based keyboard instruments. It is a close copy,acoustically and mechanically, of a harpsichord made in 1728by Christian Zell of Hamburg. Few original harpsichords survivefrom eighteenth-century Germany (compared to the numerousextant Italian and English instruments, for example). The Zell isa useful model for modern builders, since it comes from a timeand place whose music is of particular interest. Its dark, rich,and at the same time rather plain-spoken tone is also versatileenough to handle a variety of repertory from the Baroque andclassical eras.

In the preface to his first publication of toccatas (1615),Frescobaldi compared their performance style to that ofmadrigals, in which the meaning of the words affects thetempo. Frescobaldi's toccatas are rhapsodic creations whosemain formal aspect is contrast of mood and figuration. The Cmajor toccata heard tonight is one of the composer's mostlyrical utterances. I have used it as an introduction, not only tothe recital as a whole, but also (with highly questionablehistorical precedent) to Bull's little coranto-like Juell.

The Folia d'Espagne is a bass line and harmonic pattern utilizedfor numerous sets of variations by composers all over Europeduring the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. It hasappeared in nineteenth- and twentieth-century works as well.C.P.E. Bach's variations on the theme are equally suited to theharpsichord, clavichord, and fortepiano. Indeed, no one ofthese instruments can realize the entire piece to fullest effect,recalling the composer's interest in simultaneous cultivation ofall three instruments.

Daniel Pinkham's Partita emulates Baroque forms (toccata,fugue, canon, rondo) but casts them in a conservative modernidiom. The Scherzo is the most playful movement from thePartita; the Trio is hilariously reminiscent of manyeighteenth-century French harpsichord pieces.

Program Notes (continued)

The selections from Franpois Couperin's four books ofharpsichord music give some inkling of the wit and profundity ofhis writing. The Prelude, although conventionally notated, is tobe played in the free manner of the "unmeasured" preludes ofthe period. L'Arlequine (marked "grotesquement") is a portraitof Harlequin (the Commedia dell' Arte character). LeTic-Toc-Choc ou les Maillotlns seems to refer to clockwork or

perhaps the harpsichord mechanism. La [Pidce] Gamier isapparently a portrait of Couperin's friend, the organist GabrielGamier. Les Tours de Passe-passe refers punningly toslight-of-hand tricks and the crossing of hands on the twokeyboards of the harpsichord. The Passacaille, one ofCouperin's grandest works, has justly been compared to thedramas of Racine, in which formal rigor increases the expressiveintensity.

Domenico Scarlatti's wit, drama, and endless invention cannotadequately be conveyed by two of his Sonatas, or even by anentire program of them--let alone by program notes. However,the Sonatas heard this evening are filled with a poignantintensity that could hardly come from any other composer.

Bach's "Goldberg Variations" will be heard tonight withoutrepeats. This highly organized work consists of thirty variationson a harmonic pattern first heard in the theme--an aria-stylesarabande. Every third variation (Vars. 3, 6, 9, etc.) is a canon,the interval of imitation increasing with each canon until thecanon at the ninth (Var. 27). Between each pair of canons is a

duet for two keyboards and a character variation (e.g.,three-part invention, gigue, fughetta, aria, French overture).

"Richard Troeger

RICHARD TROEGER,

harpsichord

w

Sunday, March 15, 1992at 8:00 pm

Convocation Hall

Arts Building

Department of MusicUniversity of Alberta